Phoenixes Tears
by Strategically Reckless
Summary: Whilst Maria had figured out her own secret, saved her family- now she had another task, to save this girl who was wallowing in her own darkness. For once being the light to show someones way; of course, Robin was there to help. The birds would fly again.


**Jinx~ Basically, I watched thise film and despite it not being the _best_ thing I've ever seen. I fell in love with it in an instant. There is no Maria/Robin in this because if you think about it Loveday goes on to marry Sir Benjamin- Loveday is Robin's sister, making him Maria's uncle-in-law (I think). I would have loved them to get together but I came up with _this _instead. Not sure where I'm going with this story and this rambling session...**

**Disclaiming is so much fun when you have things to disclaim, like Robin and Maria, The Secret Of Moonacre film in general and my life- because, lets face it, my laptop owns it.**

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"You know, little girls should be in bed by this time," An arrogant drawl came through the empty clearing and a smile slipped onto Maria's cheeks. With her hair let loose and in some of Loveday's old riding pants and a frilly blouse- she felt able to move, to breathe. Her uncle had loosened up once the curse no longer rested upon his shoulders; the wedding between him and Robin's sister had been a grand event.

"What would your sister thing of you picking on little girls, Robin?" Maria asked him, amusement laced within her words. The boy in question chuckled and came to sit beside her, the two of them merely gazing up at the skies together in silence. Something they could count on each other for, the silence and the comfort with no questions asked. Maria peaked at the boy through the corner of her bottle green eyes. He too looked better without the weight of the curse, the feud between the families now over and done with.

The bags under his eyes had faded leaving clear porcelain like skin, his hair now smoothed out over the years, the shaggy black hair falling to cover his eyes slightly. He still wore that awful hat though, tending to use it as a weapon against Maria more often than wearing it. His eyes, now that Maria mentioned it, were dark like the nights sky with gentle chocolate flecks. He had grown to tower over her at a good 6ft being only an inch shorter than her uncle whilst Maria was the average 5ft4. Tiny in comparison.

"Stop staring Maria." A crooked smile tilted his lips as he slid the hat to cover his eyes, Maria smiled and leaned her head upon the top of her knees and wrapping her arms around her legs.

"How's your father?"

"Batty, going on and on about some creature in the dungeons." Robin muttered, chuckling as he fell backwards- his leather jacket crushing the emerald green blades beneath him. Maria smiled and turned her gaze to the stars once again; here they were, sat upon a lone hill staring at the moonlight which flooded this valley. Violet flowers scattered among the wild snowdrops and bluebells, the scenery was too beautiful to be captured in a painting Loveday had once told her. Maria had to agree with her new Aunt.

"Does your Uncle know your here?" Robin asked, peaking from under his odd cap. His eyes looking at Maria's serene face. Her long strawberry blonde locks overflowing and her eyes bottle green, the ones which she closed as if in pure bliss. Her skin glittered slightly under the moonshine making her seem ethereal . He supposed there could have been something between them once but now he was the little sister, the best-friend which he had never had.

"No, Loveday forced him to go to bed early today. The mans been working too hard." Maria said, her voice warm and full of affection for the people which cared for her. Robin chuckled at the thought of his sister "I also think she's conspiring to get us together."

Both of them laughed heartily at this, both agreeing they were better off as friends. The silence once more overcame them, the moonlight suddenly bathing them as the grey clouds parted to make way for the silvery light. Maria's eyes snapped open, facing the moon with her brow knitted in concentration.

"Something's wrong..." Her whisper wasn't lost upon the boy sat next to her- he tilted his hat back to sit upon his head once again. Sitting up correctly, he stared at his friend in confusion- this was something which happened, the moon communicated to Maria in times of need. Through the mirrors, through paintings and other things, it wasn't as often as when the curse was weighing down upon the two families but it was frequent enough. The breeze tousled their hair but it meant so much more to Maria, as she stood up.

Her eyes focused upon a spot to the west, Robin found himself gazing over in that direction as well only to have the colour drain from his face. The thick black smog which rose into the clouds, the tell-tale sign of a fire. Maria's breathing hitched, thinking of those which could have been injured and shot of in the direction without a second thought. Leaving Robin stumbling as he tried to catch up with her.

Even as Maria got closer to the flames, the atmosphere seemed to have dropped till it was icy; her breathing coming out as curling fog till she saw the elegant carriage alight with a million shades of orange. She saw the figure of a person slumped against an old willow tree but other than that- she was alone. The carriage seemed to sense The Moon Princesses presence and grew in heat and size of the flames. Robin coming up behind her, his breath laboured as he stared at the ruined carriage. Maria slipped past the flames and came to the person. It was a girl- around a year young than Robin Maria guessed. Burns covered her arms, first degree but with scattered cuts across her forearms which oozed blood. Her hair was sandy blonde, draped over her facial features. The worst wound which Maria could see was the gash running from her earlobe to her collarbone on the opposite side. Maria began to panic.

"Robin? Robin!" Maria yelled over to the shocked boy who stood staring at the flames which were coming dangerously close to his face. He seemed to snap out of some kind of daze before running over to Maria, his eyes widening when seeing the girl in front of his friend. "What do we do?"

Maria was panicking, usually she was cool, clam and collected. This was too much though, what if this girl died because she wasn't able to do anything. Robin ripped a long strip of his trousers and began to wrap the girls arms- trying to stop as much bleeding as he could before tucking her away in his arms.

"Who's place is closer?" Robin muttered, standing up with the girl in his arms. Maria quickly headed for the short-cut which would lead them to Moonacre Mansion. Robin followed her quickly, careful not to jostle the girl too much as not to aggravate any other wounds she had.

The lights were still on thankfully, either Chef or Miss Heliotrope was up and about since Digweed took Thursdays off. Maria ran ahead of Robin, hoping not to alarm them and also to prepare medical things for the girl. As soon as she made I through the doors she was enveloped within the arms of Loveday who had obviously been waiting for her, coming out from the warmth she stared up at the chocolate brown eyes which shimmered with concern. Dark bags were under Loveday's eyes, her grip firm upon Maria's shoulders.

"Where have you _been_ Maria? I was worried sick!" Loveday whispered in hope not to wake up her husband, Maria was still panting from the run though and gestured towards the door in a flurry of movement.

"I was- with- with Robin- and" Maria swallowed and found it easier to breath " Then we spotted smoke, Robins heading up here with a girl- she's badly injured."

Loveday instantly became the concerned mother-hen which she was known to be at times, she ran upstairs for a few moments leaving Maria on her own. That was before the older woman came back downstairs with her husband in tow. Her uncle looked tired but alert, if it made any sense but Maria didn't have time to ponder upon her thoughts because Robin burst through the door with the girl in his arms. Instantly her uncle took the girl out of Robins arms and headed towards one of the guest rooms on the bottom floor. Robin gazed after them with worried eyes before glancing over to Maria, who held her hand out to him which he gladly took.

"I'm guessing you want to stay the night." Maria stated softly, Robin tilted his head downwards with a crooked grin and his eyebrows raised.

"Sorry hun, I only think of you as a sister." Robin told her, his tone joking but he sounded exhausted. Maria smiled and nudged him with her elbow before taking him up to one of the guest rooms- passing Wrolf on the way there. The lion bowed it's head, strangely acquiescent in the presence of a De Noire. Despite having Loveday (Who Wrolf secretly classed as a Merryweather because he liked her so much) he never really got over the feud between the De Noires and the Merryweather's. He was there to protect the Moon princess from any potentiometer threat.

It was safe to say. The De Noires had classed as a threat for too many years to count.

"Even the bloody Lion knows when to leave me alone, hallelujah." Robin muttered as he opened the door, instantly falling on the bed and closing his eyes. Much to Maria's amusement, he fell asleep straight away only emitting the soft breathing and gentle snores.

"How the mighty have fallen~" Maria whispered in a sing-song voice, laughing as she slipped of the poor boys boots. Setting them beside the bed, she slipped off his hat as well; sneering at it in disgust before placing it upon the bedpost. With a fond smile she bent down and tucked a rogue lock of hair behind Robin's ear- having trouble concealing her laughter as he snorted in his sleep. Quickly she draped a silky green sheet over him before leaving the boy to his dreams.

As she wandered down the corridors, making her way to her own room she began to ponder. Trying to ignore the silence which was now suffocating her.

She couldn't really call him a boy any more- Maria supposed. He was bordering on eighteen and she was now fifteen. Things had really changed since she was thirteen. It seemed like yesterday when she had him dangling upside down with the blood rushing to his head. There was no one else to talk to really- she always did have trouble making friends. That's probably why Miss Heliotrope worried so much, loner by nature and nature loved her back. She didn't really have the need for friends and only acquired Robin by accident.

The patter of her footsteps were joined by Wrolf and suddenly, she didn't feel so lonely any more.

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**Reveiws would be splendid, if not. I set Wrolf on you; your choice :)**


End file.
